Derby News

ARCADIA, Calif. (April 5, 2006) - Cecil N. Peacock's Brother Derek faces a field of six in Saturday's 69th running of the Santa Anita Derby; the future book favorite's final step for the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

Brother Derek is listed as the morning line 3-5 choice and will break from post- position number two for the 1 1/8 miles event to be run as the sixth race on the eleven race card. Brother Derek has won three straight, all over graded stakes competition and remains unbeaten around two turns.

Brother Derek won the Grade I Hollywood Futurity last Dec. 17 at 1 1/16 miles, the Grade II San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita at one mile on Jan. 14, and the Grade II Santa Catalina Stakes at Santa Anita at 1 1/16 miles on March 4. As a 2-year-old, Brother Derek also won the Grade II Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita at 1 1/16-miles.

"Going a mile and an eighth, I have tactical speed," Brother Derek's trainer Dan Hendricks said. "With a short field, it shouldn't be a problem, nor should the weather. There's only a 20 percent chance of rain, so we should be fine."

Brother Derek has worked impressively since his latest victory in the Santa Catalina. He looked awesome blowing out five furlongs on Sunday in 1:00.20 under regular rider Alex Solis.

"We tack-walked him on Monday, galloped him yesterday and jogged him today," Hendricks said on a rainy Wednesday morning prior to a draw for positions attended by media and horsemen. "Just routine stuff, nothing out of the ordinary. We'll see how the race comes up, map it out in the post parade, get a grand plan and then Solis can do whatever he wants.

Everything with the horse seems to be right where we want it to be. He's fresh and going into the race with what I hope will be a lot more in reserve. His last three or four works have been like Sunday's, very professional and very strong. He seems to be advancing, and he needs to."

Other contenders for the Santa Anita Derby include A. P. Warrior, recent winner of the San Felipe Stakes (GII) at Santa Anita racing 1 1/16-miles. A. P. Warrior seems to be much improved since transferring to the barn of last year's Kentucky Derby winning trainer, John Shirreffs.

Shirreffs said of A.P. Warrior: "He's improving. He has a lot of pedigree and talent and he loves going long. I think his potential is unlimited. He's coming up to this spot right."

Point Determined, trained by three-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Bob Baffert, served notice in his last start, when he was a closing second, beaten a ½ length by A P. Warrior in the San Felipe.

Baffert discussing Point Determined stated, "There better be room for improvement. Brother Derek is the best horse I've seen this year. If we run one-two-three it will be a telltale sign that we belong in the Kentucky Derby. If A.P. Warrior keeps improving, maybe he's the horse to beat. There's a lot of quality in the field."

Another who warrants mentioning is Amerman Racing's Sacred Light. The son of Holy Bull came running late to be second, behind Santa Catalina winner Brother Derek, and the added distance of the Santa Anita Derby can only help his chances.

Sacred Light's trainer David Hofmans said, "The Santa Catalina was very encouraging. He's still learning and the further we go, the better we're going to get."

Santa Anita's rack superintendent Steve Wood expects a fast track on Saturday despite recent heavy rain. "We've had almost two inches of rain since 8 o'clock yesterday(Wednesday) morning which is when we stopped training to seal the track at about 8:30, and it's been raining ever since. There's a shot of showers all day today." Wood said to date this meet, Santa Anita has received some 14 inches of rain, "about average," compared with 38 inches at this time a year ago.

The complete field for the Santa Anita Derby, with jockeys and morning line odds in post position order (all starters carry 122 pounds):

A.P. Warrior, Corey Nakatani, 7-2
Brother Derek, Solis, 3-5
Wildfang, Omar Berrio, 50-1
Indy Wildcat, Tyler Baze, 30-1
Sacred Light, Aaron Gryder, 9-2
Point Determined, Rafael Bejarano, 4-1.

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